It is clearly a case of religious discrimination that the 1996 Education Act allows Laura Abbott to be denied free transport for choosing to attend a non-church school in accordance with her secular beliefs, while pupils attending a church school are granted this facility.

On the other hand, Christian pupils who attend a secondary school which probably does not hold regular assemblies for Christian worship as required by the Act can feel equally aggrieved that their human rights are being denied, although it is often argued that changed circumstances now make this statutory duty difficult to implement.

The injustices to which the Act has led therefore show that it is failing to meet the needs of today and should be amended accordingly.

John D Brown
West Sussex